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Game 36: Not Again

Posted Dec 21, 2013
by Aaron Portzline
| 0 comments

Two days after an unthinkable third-period collapse in Philadelphia, the Blue Jackets headed to the second intermission like a boxer who had just been saved by the bell. And even though players said the contrary, there had to be at least distant thoughts of "oh-sweet-mother-not-again" creeping into their heads.

In the span of only 20 seconds late in the second period, the Flyers scored two goals to erase a 2-0 Columbus lead. A crowd of 14,090 in Nationwide Arena squirmed in their seats after the first one, groaned audibly at the second one and were a fitful bunch as the third period approached.

“When I went into the (room) it was pretty quiet,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said of the intermission. “I walked out and a made a comment to one of the assistant coaches it was quiet. I was expecting more energy. So I wasn’t sure what we were going to get in the third.”

He must have been delighted.

The Blue Jackets scored four times in the third period to pull away from the Flyers for a 6-3 win. It matched their highest goal output of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak (0-2-1).

R.J. Umberger and Ryan Johansen each had two goals for the Blue Jackets, while rookie Boone Jenner and David Savard also scored. Corey Tropp and Nikita Nikitin each had two assists. Goaltender Curtis McElhinney had 33 saves.

“It was just a crazy game on Thursday,” McElhinney said. “I don’t know how you give up five goals in a third period like we did. I hope I’m never part of anything like that again. So this was very nice tonight, to finish it out like we did.”

It was not an entirely perfect night for the Blue Jackets, however.

Right wing Marian Gaborik, playing his first game since suffering a knee injury on Nov. 7, lasted only four shifts before he was injured again. Gaborik was hit hard by Philadelphia’s Zac Rinaldo and sandwiched between Rinaldo and Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn, suffering a fractured left-side collarbone. He’s out two to three months and will almost certainly miss the Olympics for Slovakia. The Blue Jackets placed him on injured reserve last night.

The Jackets also lost speedy left wing Matt Calvert, who suffered an upper body injury in the second period and did not return. He’ll be evaluated today.

"I like the way we played the third," Blue Jackets left wing Nick Foligno said. "We lost some guys, so we had guys playing with guys they weren't playing with at the start of the game. It forced everybody to step up a little bit."

The Blue Jackets nearly pushed the lead to 3-0 late in the second (and you know how safe a three-goal lead is right?) when Brandon Dubinsky's shot hit the crossbar, then the left post and kicked out with 2:29 left in the second.

How quickly a game can change.

Only nine seconds later, Philadelphia’s Wayne Simmonds scored through a forest of legs to make it 2-1. Only 20 seconds after that, Flyers center Sean Couturier scored to make it 2-2 with 2:00 left in the second.

“They scored a couple quick ones, but we got the intermission to regroup,” Umberger said. “(The intermission) was good. It was positive. It was upbeat. We felt like we were playing well and they just had a moment.”

Savard scored at 3:36 of the second to make it 3-2, and one of Jenner’s legs redirected a Nikita Nikitin slapshot to make it 4-2. (Sound familiar?)

Only when Johansen finished a 2-on-1 with 7:48 remaining – his 14th of the season – could the crowd breathe easier. It was 5-2.

The Flyers pulled goaltender Ray Emery for an extra skater with 3 ½ minutes to play, and Simmonds made it 5-3 with 1:41 to play.

But Umberger outworked Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn just seconds later, stripping him of the puck and scoring a hard-earned empty-net goal to cap the scoring.

“The way we played in Philly, the way we lost that … it could have killed us,” Umberger said. “It could have been a turning point in the season the wrong way.

“But we showed our character tonight.”

Side dishes:

-- The Blue Jackets improved to 6-6-1 in the Metropolitan Division.

-- Tropp had the first two-point game of his career with the two assists. He was also plus-3. Corey Tropp.

-- With Jack Skille injured on Thursday, and Gaborik and Calvert felled tonight, the Blue Jackets will likely need to tap into Springfield before Monday's game in Carolina. There's a chance C Derek MacKenzie (lower body) is cleared to play by then. He skated today, and Richards said he was feeling better. To this point, Sean Collins has been the next in line for recall. See where this goes.

-- Johansen was much better tonight than in Philadelphia. Yes, the two goals, but he also had seven shots on goal and won 14 of 26 faceoffs.

-- The Flyers lost D Erik Gustafsson in the third period after an awkward collision with Tropp. At the end of a 2-on-1, Tropp fired a shot and was headed to the ice when he fell forward and had his skate kick the side of Gustafsson's as they past. Looked twisty and maybe fracturey. Owwwuh.

-- Midway through the third period, Blue Jackets twice began chants of "We Want Mason! We Want Mason!" That, of course, is in reference to Flyers goaltender Steve Mason, who began his career (quite well, you might recall) with the Blue Jackets in 2008-09. The Flyers started Emery instead of Mason after Mason got the start (and the win) on Thursday in Philadelphia. The Flyers next play in Nationwide Arena on Jan. 23.

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